Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Rescue from the Treacherous.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
120 (A)I cried to the Lord in my trouble,
And He answered me.
2 Rescue my soul, Lord, from (B)lying lips,
From a (C)deceitful tongue.
3 What will He give to you, and what more will He do to you,
You (D)deceitful tongue?
4 (E)Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning (F)coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me, for I reside in (G)Meshech,
For I have settled among the (H)tents of (I)Kedar!
6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who (J)hate peace.
7 I (K)am for peace, but when I speak,
They are (L)for war.
The Lord, the Keeper of Israel.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will (M)raise my eyes to (N)the mountains;
From where will my help come?
2 My (O)help comes from the Lord,
Who (P)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (Q)allow your foot to slip;
He who (R)watches over you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who watches over Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your [b](S)protector;
The Lord is your (T)shade on your right hand.
6 The (U)sun will not [c]beat down on you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will [d](V)protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will [e](W)guard your going out and your coming in
(X)From this time and forever.
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s (Y)go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
Within your (Z)gates, Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that has been (AA)built
As a city that is (AB)firmly joined together;
4 To which the tribes (AC)go up, the tribes of [f]the Lord—
[g]An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For (AD)thrones were set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the (AE)peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who (AF)love you.
7 May peace be within your (AG)walls,
And prosperity within your (AH)palaces.”
8 For the sake of my (AI)brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “(AJ)May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AK)seek your good.
Prayer for the Lord’s Help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 To You I have (AL)raised my eyes,
You who (AM)are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of (AN)servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a female servant to the hand of her mistress,
So our (AO)eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 (AP)Be gracious to us, Lord, be gracious to us,
For we have had much more than enough of (AQ)contempt.
4 Our soul has had much more than enough
Of the (AR)scoffing of (AS)those who are at ease,
And with the (AT)contempt of the proud.
Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “(AU)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
(AV)Let Israel say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When people rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (AW)swallowed us alive,
When their (AX)anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the (AY)waters would have flooded over us,
The stream would have [h]swept over our souls;
5 Then the (AZ)raging waters would have [i]swept over our souls.”
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us [j]to be (BA)torn by their teeth.
7 Our souls have (BB)escaped (BC)like a bird from the trapper’s (BD)snare;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our (BE)help is in the name of the Lord,
Who (BF)made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People.
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which (BG)cannot be moved but (BH)remains forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (BI)the Lord surrounds His people
(BJ)From this time and forever.
3 For the (BK)scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the [k]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (BL)will not extend their hands to do wrong.
4 (BM)Do good, Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are (BN)upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who (BO)turn aside to their (BP)crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with those who (BQ)practice injustice.
(BR)Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BS)brought back [l]the captives of Zion,
We were (BT)like those who dream.
2 Then our (BU)mouth was filled with laughter
And our (BV)tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has (BW)done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are (BX)joyful.
4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,
As the [m](BY)streams in the [n]South.
5 Those who sow in (BZ)tears shall harvest with (CA)joyful shouting.
6 One who goes here and there weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity Comes from the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.
127 Unless the Lord (CB)builds a house,
They who build it labor in vain;
Unless the Lord (CC)guards a city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is futile for you to rise up early,
To [o]stay up late,
To (CD)eat the bread of painful labor;
This is how He gives to His (CE)beloved (CF)sleep.
3 Behold, (CG)children are a [p]gift of the Lord,
The (CH)fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a (CI)warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 (CJ)Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
(CK)They will not be ashamed
When they (CL)speak with their enemies (CM)in the gate.
Josiah Succeeds Amon
22 (A)Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of (B)Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked [a]entirely in the way of his father David, and did not (C)turn aside to the right or to the left.
3 Now (D)in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying, 4 “(E)Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and have him [b]count all the money brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 (F)And have them hand it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and have them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the Lord to repair the [c]damage to the house: 6 to the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house. 7 However, (G)no accounting shall be made with them for the money handed over to them, because they deal honestly.”
The Lost Book
8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “(H)I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have handed it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” 10 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, (I)he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, (J)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, [d](K)Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for (L)the wrath of the Lord that burns against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book, to act in accordance with everything that is written regarding us.”
17 Now in giving this next instruction (A)I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together [a]as a church, I hear that [b](B)divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. 19 For there also (C)have to be factions among you, (D)so that those who are approved may become [c]evident among you. 20 Therefore when you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, 21 for when you eat, each one takes his own supper first; and one goes hungry while (E)another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the (F)church of God and (G)shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall (H)I praise you? In this I do not praise you.
A Paralyzed Man Healed
9 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to (A)His own city.
2 (B)And they brought to Him a (C)paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “(D)Take courage, [a]son; (E)your sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said [b]to themselves, “This man is (F)blaspheming!” 4 And Jesus, (G)perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘(H)Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that (I)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the (J)paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.” 7 And he got up and [c]went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were [d]awestruck, and they (K)glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
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